Tom Garland

9.2

3rd vintage from the Kronos vineyard.

Decant for sediment(decent chunky sediment) and pour. A beautiful medium ruby red color with bricking. On the nose: Captivating notes of sweet red fruit, forest floor, floral, menthol, cigar, charcuterie. Taste: silky, layered, still alive and delicious wine with dried blueberry/cherry, damp earth, leather, loamy soil, minerals, and a licorice espresso medium plus dry finish. YUM! What a treat to drink tonight. — 5 days ago

with Brenda

Todd Anderson

9.2

Drinking very nicely but a delicate wine. Need to swish it to get to taste the fruit and earth. Drink now - unclear benefits to aging further. — 2 hours ago

Michael Chan

9.0

Original purchase and in our cellar ever since. Definitely developed but still dark red fruit and medium long finish. Showed much better that the 2005 Opus One — 13 days ago

Shriya Patnam

9.1

2016 opened at the right time — 4 days ago

Jay Kline

9.1

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2015 “Southing” pours a deep ruby color with a transparent core; medium viscosity with light staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and bruised strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, red flowers, mushroom and fine baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium tannin and medium acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium. Drink now through 2035. — a month ago

Brian Kostreba

9.0

Very good wine just not for me, I normally drink a lot of Napa valley wine and French wine. I’m not saying it’s a bad wine I’m just saying I guess I have a profile I enjoy more. I held the wine for 10 years, chilled and decanted for 1 hr, 1.5 hr, and then 2 hrs. I never experienced the normal oak, cigar, leather. You know all the taste profiles the pros mention. I enjoyed it but was still disappointed. I have one more bottle 2015 that I will drink in 2030. Maybe I’ll love it. I drank a younger bottle and really enjoyed it. It was almost overwhelming and hard to finish of course I was in las Vegas at a hotel enjoying the view from my hotel of the Bellagio fountains which made this spectacular both the wine and the view. Which was years ago but a special wine and a memory goes a long way. Especially when you get up in age. — a month ago

Timothy Eustis

Wine Director, Red Lion Inn

9.2

2022. Full bodied. Great but not too opulent nose. Lovely acidity and balanced. Macadamia nuts, lemon and something else I can’t name. Love. — 8 days ago

Ming L

9.3

The nose bursts with aromas of blackberry, cassis, violet, cocoa, dry herbs, a distinct iron-like minerality. The palate is rich and composed, with a vibrant streak of acidity. Velvety tannins frame the fruit without heaviness. The finish lingers long with subtle spices.

A powerful Rutherford cab with lots of finesses. Long life ahead. — 20 days ago

Steve Bridge

9.5

Easily my favorite visit to SMV and every other one was a 10 out of 10. All the 2023s we tasted on the trip were outstanding. This was right up there with any of them. — 2 days ago

Paul J

9.3

PnP. Massive olives. Definitely needs a decant. Rustic with some barnyard tones. Would have loved to have tried a few hours after opening. — 17 days ago

with Geoff and Brooke

Tom Garland

9.3

Decant for sediment(minimal) and pour. An amazing still deep dark purplish magenta with a little bricking. On the nose: Intoxicating perfumed notes of dark fruit, herbaceous, sandalwood, menthol, forest floor, smokey cedar. Taste: silky, classic, delicious wine with blackberry, dusty earth, charcoal, saline, and a spiced vanilla cedar long finish. YUM!! It's what's you want in a aged Napa cab with time to go. — a month ago

with Brenda

Christian Fischer

9.6

So we are tasting the 2005 side by side with the 2007. Both decanted and both are singing. This is a difficult call and I am giving both a 9.6 rating, not willing to rank one above the other. Deep and complex flavor profile. Incredibly smooth. Fantastic wine. — a month ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.7

This was the best Farella I’ve had from them. Almost as good as The Absurd w/o all the magic but roughly half the price of The Absurd. — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.6

2021 vintage. Tasted via Coravin. So the deals definitely afoot in Napa (and elsewhere in CA) currently. This was light-medium/medium body. Not the biggest Cabernet footprint on the delicate palate. But wow...immediately engaging and intimate simultaneously. Having tasted the late 60's, some 70's, most of the 80's, and nearly all of the 90's-2010's vintages of this at some point...actually feel like this is the wine this property has always wanted to make since inception. It's pure, authentic, and pared to the bone. Zen-like. No fluff, no fat. Tasting a Cabernet like this reminds me (yet again) how bastardized things have truly gotten along CA Hwy 29. Picked up two 6-packs and we'll see how it does. Leaner and biting-playfully. So unlike nearly all Napa cabs these days so it comes across as a huge palate/Napa Cab market reset now. Have been able to take or leave BV over the decades compared to Phelps, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Dunn, Diamond Creek, Mondavi, Mayacamas, Heitz and the rest of the really old guard but blind taste this against any 2020 or newer Napa Cab and/or Bordeaux and see where it slots for you. 8.5.26. — 16 days ago

Joe Fischer

9.2

Dark ruby with aromas of dark red stewed fruits, blackberries, baking spices, and red currants. On the bud, it’s smooth and delicious with more stewed fruits and spices. Excellent with our aged ribeye and baked potato. — 13 days ago

Brandon Boesch

9.4

Really nice, good fruit and acidity. Strawberries, herbal quality, other good fruits. — 12 days ago

Brandon Boesch

9.4

So solid. Had it at a steakhouse in Estes park. Great fruit and tannin and balance. — 6 days ago

K Brooks

9.1

Still quite nice with roasted chicken breast. — 15 days ago

Christian Fischer

9.6

So we are tasting the 2007 side by side with the 2005. Both decanted and both are singing. This is a difficult call and I am giving both a 9.6 rating, not willing to rank one above the other. Deep and complex flavor profile. Incredibly smooth. Fantastic wine — a month ago

John Malcolm

9.4

Sticking with my rating from two years ago, but I would add tasting lavender and plum. Delicious! — 24 days ago